This application claims the priority of 198 39 521.3-42, filed Aug. 29, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a front-end structure for a motor vehicle, having a front wall which separates a passenger compartment from a front-end compartment and on which a brake servo unit is fixed, to which is connected a brake pedal extending into a footwell of the passenger compartment. The structure also has front-end body-shell parts and apparatus for pivoting the brake pedal and the brake servo unit forwards in the direction of travel in the event of a vehicle impact.
DE 44 15 642 A1 describes a front wall of a front-end structure of a motor vehicle which separates a passenger compartment from a front-end space. Arranged on the front wall, at the height of a bearing block for a pedal arrangement, is a brake servo unit, with the bearing block projecting into a footwell of the passenger compartment. The front wall is provided with a pre-planned bending region which is so arranged, relative to the bearing block for the pedal arrangement and relative to the brake servo unit, that in the event of a frontal impact and a corresponding deformation of the front wall, a pivoting movement of the bearing block is achieved. This results in a forward movement of the pedal arrangement, forwards in the direction of travel and thus out of the footwell towards the front wall. At the same time, the brake servo unit itself also follows the pivot movement.
DE 196 01 800 A1 describes a safety device for a pedal arrangement which is fixed by a bearing block to a front wall of a motor vehicle. Within the passenger compartment, a crossmember is arranged in front of the bearing block at a defined distance from the front wall and extends at the height of the articulation point of the pedal arrangement. This crossmember holds the pedal arrangement at a distance from the driver of the motor vehicle in the event of a front wall intrusion.
DE 197 57 832 A1 has a pedal arrangement on a front wall of a motor vehicle. The mounting of the pedal arrangement is provided with a stop surface which interacts with a corresponding stop on a cockpit crossmember. In the event of a frontal impact and a corresponding front wall intrusion, this combination generates a vertical upward movement of the pedal arrangement, so that the pedal arrangement is partially moved out from the remaining footwell of the passenger compartment.
A front-end structure for a motor vehicle described in DE 28 41 988 C2. The front-end structure forms part of a self-supporting bodyshell of a passenger vehicle. In order to prevent injury in the region of a driver's feet caused by the brake pedal arrangement in the event of a vehicle impact and a front-end deformation resulting therefrom, the brake pedal is moved forwards in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, out of the footwell, by a pivoting of the associated brake servo unit in the event of a corresponding front-end deformation. To this end, the brake servo unit supporting the brake pedal is mounted by an independent support part, with the support part extending between a front-end side member and a windscreen crossmember. The brake servo unit is fixed on the support part so that both the brake booster and the brake master cylinder are arranged in front of this support part in the direction of travel.
Another front-end structure for a passenger vehicle is described in DE 30 18 732 C2, in which a brake servo unit is similarly mounted on a support part which is connected to a front wall of the body shell.